Dr Gladys West, the mathematician whose work laid the foundations for modern GPS and GNSS technology, has died at the age of 95. Her passing on 17 January marks the loss of a pioneering figure whose contributions continue to underpin global navigation, positioning and geospatial data systems used worldwide.
Although her work remained largely unrecognized outside specialist circles for decades, Dr West’s role in shaping satellite-based positioning systems is now widely acknowledged as fundamental. Her research into modelling the Earth’s geoid, the irregular shape of the planet influenced by gravity and tidal forces, proved critical to achieving the positioning accuracy that GPS users now take for granted.
Born in Virginia, USA, in 1930, West grew up under the constraints of Jim Crow segregation but pursued higher education with distinction. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from Virginia State College, now Virginia State University, before beginning her professional career in 1956 at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, today known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center. She was the second Black woman to be hired at the facility and one of only a handful of Black employees at the time.
From the 1970s through the 1980s, West played a central role in analysing satellite altimeter data from NASA’s Geodetic Earth Orbiting programme. She later became project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry mission, the first satellite designed to remotely sense the oceans. Her leadership significantly improved data processing efficiency and earned her formal commendation.
Using early satellite data and complex mathematical algorithms, West developed increasingly accurate and repeatable global models of the Earth’s geoid. Working with an IBM 7030 Stretch computer, she accounted for variations in gravitational and tidal forces that distort the planet’s shape. These models later became integral to the mapping and positioning functions of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
In 1986, West published a detailed technical report, Data Processing System Specifications for the Geosat Satellite Radar Altimeter, outlining methods to improve the accuracy of geoid heights and vertical deflection. The work represented a major advance in satellite geodesy and further strengthened the precision of positioning systems.
West spent 42 years at the Dahlgren centre before retiring in 1998. Broader public recognition of her achievements came later in life. In 2017, then-Dahlgren Division Commander Captain Godfrey Weekes highlighted her integral role in GPS development, noting that her work on satellite geodesy had a lasting impact on the accuracy of global navigation systems. Her memoir, It Began with a Dream, was published in 2020.
Today, GNSS technology is embedded across industries ranging from surveying and mapping to construction, logistics and far beyond. The mathematical frameworks developed by Dr West remain central to these applications.
The geospatial sector has lost a leading figure whose work helped shape modern positioning and navigation systems. Her contributions endure in the satellite technologies and geodetic models that continue to support everyday applications around the world.
